1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a surgical stapling device for applying surgical staples to body tissue. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a surgical stapling device suitable for performing circular anastomosis of hollow tissue organs.
2. Background to Related Art
Anastomosis is the surgical joining of separate hollow organ sections. Typically, an anastomosis procedure follows surgery in which a diseased or defective section of hollow tissue is removed and the remaining end sections are to be joined. Depending on the desired anastomosis procedure, the end sections may be joined by either circular, end-to-side or side-to-side organ reconstruction methods.
In a circular anastomosis procedure, the two ends of the organ sections are joined by means of a stapling instrument which drives a circular array of staples through the end section of each organ section and simultaneously cores any tissue interior of the driven circular array of staples to free the tubular passage. Examples of instruments for performing circular anastomosis of hollow organs are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,053,390, 5,588,579, 5,119,983, 5,005,749, 4,646,745, 4,576,167, and 4,473,077, each of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. Typically, these instruments include an elongated shaft having a handle portion at a proximal end of the elongated body to actuate the instrument and a staple holding component disposed at a distal end of the elongated body. An anvil assembly including an anvil rod with attached anvil head is mounted to the distal end adjacent the staple holding component. Opposed end portions of tissue of the organs to be stapled are clamped between the anvil head and the staple holding component. The clamped tissue is stapled by driving one or more staples from the staple holding component so that the ends of the staples pass through the tissue and are deformed by the anvil head.
Instruments for performing circular anastomosis procedures having anvil assemblies which are pivotable from an operative position to a tilted or non-operative position are known in the art. Such pivotable anvil assemblies lessen the trauma to a patient during insertion and/or removal of the anvil assembly into or from a body lumen.
During some procedures using such instruments, it is desirable to insert the anvil assembly of the instrument into a body lumen in the tilted position, return the anvil assembly to the operative position to perform the anastomosis procedure, and thereafter return the anvil assembly to its tilted position for removal of the anvil assembly and/or instrument from the body lumen. During other procedures, it is desireable to insert the anvil assembly into a body lumen in its operative position and move the anvil assembly to its tilted position prior to removal from the body lumen. In each of these procedures, it would be desirable for the anvil assembly to move automatically to its desired position.
Accordingly, a continuing need exists in the art for an improved stapling device having a tiltable anvil assembly which can achieve the above-mentioned objectives.